Moments
by toastedmuffinz
Summary: Collection of drabbles and oneshots:featuring different, possibly fluffy and cheesy, RenoTifa moments
1. I bequeath you my girl

Title: **I bequeath you my girl, always and no matter what **  
Pairing: Reno x Tifa  
Summary: When someone writes a will, it's always about leaving their loved ones with something that's dear to them. For Reno, it isn't quite the same.  
Disclaimer: Final Fantasy and its characters rightfully belongs to Square Enix  
A/N: I decided that since I have a bunch of ideas for one-shots (or maybe I should say drabbles since they are probably going to be short and simple ones) I should just place them all together in a single story instead of starting a new one every time. So yes, the drabbles' update depends on the readers' interests...meaning - reviews are an **absolute** must if you wanna see another soon. Nah, I'm kidding. Leave a review if you want to, don't if you don't feel like it. Just enjoy the fic and it's all good. Cheers!  
P.S Be well aware that the drabbles are probably gonna be really fluffy (sorry 'bout that). So you've been warned people._  
_

* * *

Tifa Lockhart eyed the young man before her. With an engrossed look, he was sitting by a corner table, writing away. She observed as his fiery red hair fell before his blue eyes, hiding them from her view, and his lips lightly pursed themselves as his hand scribbled on the paper in a swift motion. He had been sitting there, writing for the past hour and her curiosity had been building up since then. 

Marlene, who helped her closed the bar earlier, even went over to see what he was doing but was shooed away. The young girl shot him an annoyed look before he hastily apologized and promised he would treat her to ice cream later. She had always held a soft spot in his heart and she knew it, which was why she would always use it to her advantage. Her annoyance turned to joy at his words but before she left him to his devices, she couldn't help but ask what exactly was he writing. He had answered with a solitary word – "secret", and a wink. Marlene stared at him for a moment before shrugging and making him promise he would tell her about it later. Reno good-naturedly nodded his head and sent her on her way.

Tifa had the bar closed and cleaned, with just the glasses to dry, and yet he was still writing in his corner of the room. Her nose scrunched in confusion as she wondered what he was up to. Just as she decided she should go over to see, the pen fell from Reno's hand with a clatter as he stood up. He pushed the chair back – causing a painful screeching sound to her ears, as he made his way towards her with a huge grin. Her eyebrows lifted themselves on suspicion but she said nothing. As soon as Reno reached the counter where she was at, he stuck the paper in front of her face without a word. Lightly taken aback, Tifa took a step back as she tried to read the scrawl of words in front of her.

Her face distorted into a mix of disbelief and confusion as she read the title on the top, "Reno's Will. I, hereby declare this piece of paper as my will should I leave this sucky world and –" She guffawed. "Reno, what in the world is this?"

"It's a will," he stated simply as he reached behind the bar to grab a glass and a bottle of whisky. His hands deftly undid the cap before pouring a drink for himself.

"I know. It says so. But why?" she asked with a confused smile yet her wine orbs twinkled in amusement.

"I just figured that I should write one. Never know when you're going to die, so I thought, ah what the heck."

Tifa shook her head at his response. She walked over to his side of the counter and sat beside him on the stool. "What prompted you to think of your own death? You've never came across as the morbid type. Or are you?"

He chuckled before whispering in a mysterious voice, "You never know."

"Ha-ha," she replied dryly. She turned her attention to the paper in her hands. "For Rude, my bald drinking buddy, I leave him my collection of comics and stash of cigarettes – that is if I still have them when I die. And also, my EMR which I think would serve as a great memento for him to remember me by. And no way in hell is he allowed to throw, donate, or destroy it in any way. I know I smashed his sunglasses one too many times, but no, he is not allowed to take revenge with my EMR.

"For Elena, I leave her with Tseng, whom yes, I know I have no authority over but I know he wants her and she wants him, so I think it would be quite appropriate to proclaim them a couple. I mean, you can't go against a dead guy's wishes can you? No, definitely not. And Tseng, Elena…if you do, I swear I will come back to haunt you. I really will."

Reno smirked as she read the bit on his friends. She paused to look at him with a disapproving look, "You can't demand someone to be with someone else in your will."

"Normally you can't. But I can. Anyway, just go on reading the next part."

"As for Tifa Lockhart, I bequeath her my girl, always and no matter what," Tifa read aloud. She raised an eyebrow before shooting him a dubious look. "Don't you think you've got it wrong here?" Reno shook his head with a grin. "It says, I bequeath her my girl, always and no matter what. Reno, that makes no sense whatsoever. In a will, if this can be passed off as one, you _leave_ someone _something_. Not that I'm anxious for your money or other worldly possessions, but what exactly are you leaving me with?"

"I thought it was stated obviously," Reno replied casually as he took another swig of his drink. He watched as she shook her head with the word 'confused' clearly stamped on her forehead. With a cluck of his tongue, he playfully enunciated his next words like he was talking to a lost child, "Lockhart, even if I go, you are still going to be my girl. I'm leaving you the title as _my_ girl. Reno's girl. Always. No matter what." Reno watched as her face turned from a flushing red of annoyance to a blushing red. A determined look appeared on his face as he spoke the next words with a tone of finality, "Nothing's going to change that, and it's sure as hell no one's allowed to take you away either."

Tifa couldn't help but embarrassedly look away from him as soon as those words left his lips. "It's selfish but hey, if you are my girl now, you are my girl always." Wanting her attention, he reached out for her hand and pulled her towards him. With her two hands in his own, he gazed up at her with a confident smile, "Because I know no one's going to be able to replace you. Even if I'm going to be in the Lifestream and meet all those dead babes, I'm still your Reno."

This time Tifa could only laugh, "What makes you think I want you to keep being _my_ Reno?"

"Because," he said with a smirk, "no one's going to be able to replace me." At that, he pulled her closer to him and quickly captured her lips in a quick kiss. When he pulled away, a satisfied grin was evident on his face.

"You think you're so smart," Tifa said with a roll of her eyes as she pulled out of his grasp. Despite her cool demeanor, she was actually flattered and very much touched by his words.

"I know so," he drawled with a wink.

"You're quite on the egotistical side aren't you?" Tifa joked as she reached for the dishcloth on the counter and continued drying the glasses.

"Ah, that's not egotistical. It's self-confidence."

Tifa snorted in response.

"If you keep doing that I'm gonna have to take you off the will. It's quite unappealing you know?"

Tifa shot him a nonchalant look before replying, "Go ahead. Knowing you, it will take _forever_ to have you dead. So the will won't come into effect anytime soon anyway."

"Well, that is _quite_ true. Long live Reno. Yay me."

She couldn't help but laugh at his words, "You are such a dork."

"But you love me still. Who's the bigger dork?" He replied with a smirk.

Her cheeks flushed red as she tried to hide the growing grin playing on her lips.

"Dork and dork, we make quite a match Lockhart," he joked.

"Whatever," Tifa replied as she swiftly threw the dishcloth at his face. Tifa quickly ran up the stairs as she heard him recover from her sudden 'surprise attack' with a few muttered curses before his footsteps hit the floorboards.

"You're not going to get away with that Lockhart."

"Oh yeah? Try me." She shouted back as she bolted from him.

Reno grinned as he quickened his pace to chase after her. If everyday for the rest of his life was like this, he wouldn't mind if his will would never come into effect. Death can wait. He mentally noted that he was going to keep himself alive as long as possible, just to have more time with the woman he loved.


	2. Reno! Duck!

Title: **Reno! Duck!**  
Summary: Fixing kitchen cabinets involves the hazards of flying hammers and fire ants, a little moment at romance, and of course, a chance at making a fool of yourself.  
Disclaimer: The usual, I don't own the characters at all, unfortunately.  
A/N: Thank you for the warm reviews and I'm glad you guys enjoyed the first drabble. Also, thanks to those who added me on the alert/favorites list. Hope everyone would enjoy this one as well. Cheers!

* * *

Reno stepped into Seventh Heaven welcomed by the clamorous sounds of knocking and banging, accompanied with the occasional muttered curses. He lifted an eyebrow as recognition of the voice hits him. A smirk formed on his lips as he knew she – the owner of the voice, was never one to curse. _Must be pretty serious_, he thought amusedly. Stealthily making his way towards the source of noise, he mentally noted to keep all wisecrack remarks to himself. Tifa Lockhart is definitely the last person to joke with when she's not in the mood. A not-so-fond memory of his face meeting the asphalt came to his mind as he recalled the last time he made a comment during her raging irritability. Needless to say, he was well-warned after that. 

The sight that greeted him upon reaching the kitchen stopped him immediately in his tracks. _What in the world happened here?_ Bewilderment was clearly imprinted all over his face.

The place was covered with various nails, screws and little hinges here and there. Boards of all sizes were strewn across the floor, some with half-driven nails dangerously protruding from them. Sitting right in the middle of the mess, with an exasperated look, was Tifa Lockhart. Her sable hair was tied in a loose French twist – which looked messier than it should be, and her white sleeveless had distinct grainy brown specks over it. In one hand was a hammer and another had a manual with worn and torn tell-tale marks. It didn't take him a second to register the fact that the manual had probably been the victim of her frustration.

Reno remained quiet as he continued observing her, with no intention to announce his presence, at least not before he could determine her mood. _You can never be too sure with a female. Especially one with a hammer in her hands_, he mused. He watched as Tifa glanced at the manual once more. A frustrated sigh escaped before she blew a stray strand of hair from her face. Silence. She then switched her gaze between a board before her and the manual a few times. Seconds passed before she placed the manual down and with a determined look, she set to work on the board. A couple of knocks later, Tifa stopped to admire her work before reaching for the manual again.

"Now where does this go?" she muttered to herself.

Reno watched with a small smile as a crease on her forehead appeared, and her lips twitched to the right side as her nose scrunched in a way he thought was rather cute. He continued watching as she took hold of the board and another to place them together.

"Wait, this is not right. Isn't the holes supposed to be side by side?" Tifa sighed as she tried to turn the board around. The holes where the screws had to be placed in didn't quite seem to match in positions. Tifa sighed again and wondered if she had the board the wrong way. She turned the board to its other side once more and tried. Figuring that it could be upside down, she proceeded to turn it over. Still, the holes didn't match. She then tried her luck with the second board. "Ugh, stupid, stupid thing." She let the two boards fall with a bang – which led to Reno cringing at the sound they made – and picked up the manual again. "It's right as it's supposed to be," she looked at the boards once more, "What is _wrong_ with you? Will you just allow yourself to be fixed already?"

A low chuckle escaped Reno's lips. At the sudden sound, Tifa's reflex instantaneously picked up the hammer beside her and hurled it at the source. Her wine orbs widened in horror as soon as his face came into her view. Reno's own aqua blue orbs mirrored hers as the hammer came soaring.

"Reno! Duck!"

He didn't need to be told twice as he immediately ducked just in time to avoid the hammer from possibly smashing his face into a pulp. The hammer flew straight to the wall behind him with a loud bang. With a shocked look, he turned to look at the fallen hammer before turning to face her, "Are you trying to kill me?"

Her horrified look quickly turned into an apologetic one. "I am so sorry. I swear, I didn't know it was you." A small smile appeared at her lips as a peace offering.

"That took a year off my life Lockhart."

"I'm _really_ sorry. Besides, you are not even on my list of people to kill with the hammer."

"You mean there are other lists? Am I on any one of them?

"Not anymore. Though you were in the list for being run over with a truck and the one which involved fire-ants." Reno's eyes widened at her last words. "But you are not in them anymore," she quickly assured, her eyes twinkling with amusement.

"You never fail to surprise me," he dryly replied.

"Taken as a compliment," she grinned. "But really, don't ever do that again. Who knows what else I might hurl at you the next time."

"I'll keep it in mind," _Along with the many other scary sides of you_, he mentally added.

"What were you doing lurking there, watching me?"

"I wasn't lurking. I was just, well, waiting."

"Whatever for?"

Reno decided it would be safer not to answer her question. His eyes were trained on the nailer resting on a board to her left.

"Reno?" she prompted.

His gaze switched to her and he quickly shook his head, "Nothing. Anyway, you look like you could use some help."

"Obviously," Tifa said with a light huff. "This board is just not fitting with the other and I have no idea why." Reno chuckled as he made his way towards her, carefully stepping over and around the boards. She eyed him with a confused look, "What's so funny?"

"Nothing. Here, let me look at the manual." Tifa dutifully handed him the worn booklet. "This is pretty easy yo."

"No it's not. I've been at this for two hours now and I still haven't gotten past the second page." Reno couldn't help but laugh as soon as the words left her lips. She glared at him – almost indignantly, "It's not funny." Reno laughed even harder. Feeling irritated, Tifa stood up. "Alright. If you think this is so easy then why don't you go ahead and finish it while I go clean up and have my shower."

Reno, never one to back down from a challenge, immediately agreed. "I'll get have it complete and ready by the time you return from your shower," he said with a confident smile.

"We'll see," she replied with a smirk.

* * *

Forty-five minutes passed since Tifa had left Reno to his devices. She came downstairs, freshly showered, humming a tune of her own. When she stepped into the kitchen, an inevitable chuckle escaped her lips. Sitting right where she was an hour ago, was Reno – a messy, sweaty looking Reno, with curses streaming at a rapid pace. 

"You're lucky it's just me around here. Imagine if there were kids around, what a good amount of education you would be giving them," she spoke up. Reno whipped around to face her, a scowl evident on his face. She couldn't help but grin. "So…I see things are – just the way they are as I left them."

"Very funny."

"Well I have to say it is. I mean, I see no progress from where it was an hour ago. But hey, maybe you managed to place a screw in. That's a progress," she joked. His face clouded over, and Tifa decided to stop her teasing. She walked over and sat beside him. "Here, you need this more than I do," she said as she offered him her towel which hung around her neck seconds before. He took it without a word and sloppily wiped his face with it. "Come on, let me help you, you male chauvinist," she said amusedly before taking the towel from his hands and proceeded to gently wipe his face. Her hand was cool to his heated skin, and soft – providing him the familiar touch which he had always loved. Her other hand reached up to push his long bangs away. With a smile playing at her lips, she continued at his neck.

Reno sat obediently still as he watched her hands carefully work their way at the top buttons of his shirt. She stopped when she reached midway and continued to gently pat at his neck and chest. He breathed in her vanilla scent as his eyes continued their watch on her. He lifted a finger to her chin and prodded her to look up at him. Slowly and tentatively, he leaned towards her as she leaned forwards, instinctively knowing his intentions. Their lips met a kiss and they only pulled away after a minute. She was the first to break the kiss.

"There. Now, why don't you just sit aside while I try to finish this myself?"

A little disappointed, Reno replied, "But you couldn't even finish it earlier."

"Well, now that I have my shower and mind all cleared up, I think I should manage just fine."

Reno skeptically lifted an eyebrow. "Even I can't get through this part here," he pointed to a diagram in the manual, "what makes you think you can?"

Tifa took a look at the manual before a sly smile appeared at her lips, "Because," she stated matter-of-factly as she picked the manual up, "I won't be having the manual upside down like someone else here." With that, she turned the manual back to its correct viewing position. A hue of redness appeared at Reno's facial features as realization hit home. Tifa immediately convulsed into fits of laughter.

"It's really not that funny." Reno muttered.

Tifa didn't answer. She was too busy laughing at the man who simply never failed to make her laugh every time she was with him. Whether it was out of his goofiness, dorkiness, wittiness or whatever it was, one thing was for sure – she knew she was never going to cry with someone like him.


	3. A form of unkind punishment

Title: **A form of unkind punishment  
**Summary: A lovers' dispute is often painful. But it hurts the most when one walks away from it.  
Disclaimer: I wish they were mine, especially Reno, but they are not. So that's that.  
A/N: A special note of thanks to _The Sacred and Profane_, your review had left me very much flattered. Thanks. And as for requests, well, it has never really crossed my mind to be honest, cause I've always felt it would be difficult to write something that would live up to someone's expectations other than my own. I suppose it's a little low self-confidence on my part, but then again, why not? I'll try my hand at the request and hopefully, have it done before Halloween. To everyone else, thanks for reading D

* * *

"I told you to return as soon as the food's here." 

"Well I'm back now."

"But I had to go get you _twice_," the feminine voice answered with an edgy tone of voice.

Eyebrows rose a few centimeters. Her companion, a man older than her by a few years, waved his hand dismissively, "I'm already here so will you just drop it?" He resisted the urge to roll his eyes, knowing full well that it would raise her anger and irritation at him notches higher. "Really," he muttered under his breath.

"What was that?" Indignation flashed in her eyes. "Could you repeat that?"

The male slumped further into his seat as he shot her a weary look, "It's nothing alright? Can we eat now?"

"No! Don't just brush this off as if nothing's wrong. You know full well that I've been waiting here for you all by myself for a whole hour before you turned up. And when you did, you left me here with instructions to order the food and inform you when it arrives while you – you go look at whatever it is that interests you in that stupid shop there!"

Her sudden outburst caused a sudden silence in the café where they were in. The chatter, clinks and whatnots stopped upon hearing the woman's infuriated voice. Curious, disconcerted, and dubious looks were thrown in their direction from patrons and waiters alike – some in discreet, some otherwise. Her companion glared at her in return.

"Oh sure, make a scene will you?" he hissed.

"It was your fault to begin with," she replied accusingly.

A young couple sitting at a table beside them looked down at their plates in discomfort at being such close range to the quarreling couple. The close proximity had them listening in to the argument since the man was dragged back – almost literally, into the café from the 'stupid shop'. Their eyes met for a brief moment and she offered a helpless shrug before they proceeded to tune their attention, as best they could, to the food on their own plates.

"My fault? You're the one who started this."

"You're such an ass."

A waitress, barely in her 20s, hesitantly approached the couple with an uncertain smile. "Is- is everything alright?" she asked, with a hope to tame the flaming tension between the couple and to bring them to attention of their current surrounding. Mentally, she cursed the café's manager for sending her over to – as he had put it in an authoritative manner - "settle the lovers' dispute so they would stop scaring the hell out of the other customers."

"Yes," he replied coldly with his eyes still on the woman before him.

"Well sir, if that's so, then would you – would you mind to soften your voices just a little so as to not interrupt the other customers?"

"That's okay miss. I'm done here anyway," he said as he abruptly stood up, knocking the chair over as he did so. His companion stared at him with an astounded look. The waitress took a few steps back in surprise while the young couple in the next table stopped eating with their forks mid-way in the air. "I've had enough of this crap," he announced before storming off.

A grim line formed on the woman's lips as she watched his leave. She took a few deep breaths to regain her composure but it didn't stop the tears in her eyes. Silent tears cascaded down her porcelain cheeks as the waitress sympathetically handed her a napkin and a word or two of comfort.

A hand softly touched her by the shoulder. When she turned to look, she was greeted with the sight of a young woman in her early 20s with her sable hair loose behind her back and her wine orbs reflecting a warm, kind gaze. "Are you alright?" her voice was gentle and soothing to the distraught woman. She gave a brief nod of response. "It's going to be okay. Why don't you try to cool down a bit before going off to look for him? I'm sure he would have calmed down by then," the young woman suggested.

She nodded again. "I will. Thanks." She then picked up her purse and left after leaving some money for the bill.

The young woman kept her gaze for a brief moment before resuming her seat opposite her own companion. The café's atmosphere resumed to its previous tinkling and chiming as everyone settled back to as they were.

"That was – scary."

"Well, I guess a lovers' dispute is sometimes even scarier than anything else."

"Especially since we were right _beside_ them."

"Oh Reno. They can't help it anymore than we can listening in." Tifa Lockhart reproved.

"Don't tell me you weren't interested," he replied with a mischievous glint in his aqua blue eyes.

"Well, somewhat," she answered embarrassedly with a light blush to her cheeks. "I'm glad we don't have those kinds of disputes," she stated as he picked up his fork again to continue eating.

"Who says we don't? We argue over everything under the sun," Reno answered with a wry smile.

"You're just exaggerating, we don't argue over everything under the sun. So watch your words there buddy," Tifa joked as she pointed her own fork at him. He shot her a momentarily mock-terrified look before breaking into a smirk.

"Forks don't scare me much Tifa. I've faced worst. But I wouldn't mind if you could put that thing away."

Tifa chuckled, "But really, I meant what I said."

"About what?" Reno questioned as he struggled with the piece of meat on his plate which refused to be sliced. Tifa raised an eyebrow at his jerky movements before shaking her head and took the plate from him. He watched as she skillfully sliced the meat in smaller portions in quick motions. "How _do_ you do that?"

"Practice," she answered with a shrug. "As I was saying, no, we are not like them because – because you've never walked out on me before." His aqua blue orbs gave full attention to her upon hearing her words.

"I've always been taught by my father that it's rude and ignorant to walk out on someone. Especially more so when a man does it to a woman. It's an unkind and selfish form of punishment cause by walking away, it leaves the person feeling all alone, scared and uncertain of what beholds ahead.

"Even when we have our share of arguments, you've never walked out on me like the man did," she paused before she softly continued, "And I love you for that. Thank you Reno."

Reno felt his lips tugged themselves upward. His hand reached out to take hers in his. "I will never walk out on you Tifa," he promised.


	4. Jealousy, pirates and whatnots

Title: **Jealousy, pirates and whatnots**  
Summary: Whoever would have thought costume-choosing would involve hurtling masquerade masks and a dagger? When it comes to Reno, anything is possible.  
Disclaimer: Nope. I don't own the characters at all. Which is pretty sad when I think about it.  
A/N: This is for _The Sacred and Profane, _who had requested for this. I sincerely hope it goes down well with you and I apologize for the lateness of it. I know I said before Halloween...but it's practically Halloween isn't it? Lol, sorry about that. Had assignments to complete. To everyone else, thanks for reading and reviewing. Cheers!

* * *

"_Why_ are we going through with this again?" Reno asked in an almost whining voice.

"Well, you mentioned before that you'd like to add a little fun to our life, or as you so eloquently put it, 'Isn't this boring for you? Just holding hands and kissing. We need something more, something extra, a little wild fun of some sort.'" Tifa answered as she fiddled around with the large white wings.

His eyebrows shot up in surprise, he wasn't quite sure if she was just teasing or otherwise. Sure, he had had said that, but this clearly wasn't what he had in mind. It had involved a little less clothing and a bedroom instead of more clothes – _colorful, fancy and hideous ones at that_, he thought – and a costume shop with a more-than-helpful assistant. Reno's hands twitched every time the shop assistant laid his 'helping' hands on Tifa.

His eyes narrowed when he caught sight of the assistant resting his hands on Tifa's shoulders as he turned her around to face the mirror while showering her with compliments on how beautiful she looked with the pair of wings behind her. She didn't quite seem to believe him though as Reno noticed her skeptical look. He shifted his gaze onto the assistant once more. _That shitty guy sure has a thick skin_, he mused.It wasn't that Reno was jealous, well maybe a little, but it was the fact that the guy was hitting on Tifa right in front of him – absolutely disregarding Reno's presence and _his_status as _her_boyfriend. Reno picked up a midnight blue masquerade mask he had been fingering seconds before and with a quick shift of his arm, the mask went sailing before colliding with the unaware assistant's head.

"Ouch!"

Tifa immediately turned to the culprit. With a shrug of his shoulder and raising his hands as if in innocence, Reno simply offered a bemused look.

"What was that?" The assistant demanded as he turned around to look at what hit him. He picked up the mask from the floor and shot a suspicious look at Reno. Reno responded him the same way as he did to Tifa. The assistant regarded him for a moment before shaking his head and excused himself to the washroom, muttering something about needing an icepack.

"So anyway," Reno quickly spoke up before Tifa had the chance to reprimand him, "I didn't mean this yo."

"Then what did you mean?" Her wine orbs reflected on his curiously.

Tifa Lockhart was either playing hard to get or simply oblivious to whatever sexual insinuations. He decided it was probably the latter since the look on her face was one of pure confusion and inquisition. It was one of the many Tifa Lockhart looks that he found simply endearing and charming. And the thin-strapped, soft white dress she had on that reached just above her knees accentuated her charm. "Never mind," he answered, not wanting to corrupt the purity and innocence that was the essence of her. It was one of those things that drew him to her. How her wine eyes held wisdom beyond her years but yet still reflect the innocence from time to time again. How her lips were so soft and sweet to kiss and never failed to leave him hungry for more. How her laughter floated to his ears so easily despite the din from the rowdy drinkers in Seventh Heaven. A small smile curled at his lips.

"Reno?"

His attention was diverted off from his thoughts and to the sable haired girl before him.

"Nice," he commented with a huge grin. Tifa had on velvet-like maroon fitted bodice held together by thin black ribbons, matched with a ripped and ragged black long skirt with a dirty cream apron attached. It was a medieval dress, but a less frilly and a little more revealing version.

"You can put your eyes back to where they belong Reno. I'm not choosing this." Tifa commented with a light smirk. Reno's face fell at her words, "It's a little too tight anyway."

"Aw, come on Tifa. That looks absolutely amazing."

"Nope. Sorry."

"Then why did you try it on in the first place?" Reno sulked.

"Just because," Tifa answered with a mischievous gleam in her eyes. "What are you planning to wear?" Reno glanced around the shop with a shrug of his shoulders. "What about that?" she said as she pointed a corner. Reno shot her a dubious look. "What?"

"Of all things –"

"Don't be such a wet blanket."

"Yes, don't be such a wet blanket."

Reno immediately glared at the shop assistant who had just returned. On his face was a jeering smile and Reno felt nothing more but to hurl another masquerade mask at him. Or anything else really, he wasn't picky.

The assistant merely turned his attention away from him and focused on Tifa instead. "You look gorgeous Ms. Lockhart! May I recommend something else to compliment the dress?" His hands made their way to her waist as he attempted to explain to her something about the dress.

Reno narrowed his eyes and picked up a primeval dagger on the glass table beside him. His lips curled into a playful smile as he carefully aimed at his target. With a swift hurl, the dagger landed on the wall behind the assistant with a loud thwack. A good three inches to the right and the assistant's head would be on the receiving end.

"Reno!" Tifa exclaimed as the assistant held a hand to his heart with a stagger.

"Um. It slipped?" Reno answered with a sheepish smile.

"That was dangerous! Were you trying to kill me?" The assistant demanded.

"That depends. Are you planning to have your hands go any further on _my_ girlfriend?" With a difficult swallow, the assistant quickly shook his head. "Good. Then killing you isn't necessary."

"Reno, we're not going to make it to the town square for the event if you are going to be so hell-bent on throwing things like a little child." Tifa reproved. Just to irk her a little, Reno stuck his tongue out in reply, exactly like a little child would. "Just try on the outfit already," Tifa said exasperatedly.

"Only if you promise to wear what I choose for you."

"Fine."

"Fine." With a satisfied nod, Reno made his way to the changing room after gesturing to the still very much afraid assistant to get the outfit for him. As he passed Tifa, he handed her a sleeveless white dress with an empire waist and gold trimmings. She raised an eyebrow at his choice but took it anyway.

Minutes passed before they emerged from their respective changing room.

At first glance of Tifa, Reno felt his jaw dropping open. A sheer layer of white chiffon hung delicately over her left shoulder as another longer one with a gold ribbon as its end trimming was attached to the back of her dress' skirt – creating an ethereal look about her. Her legs were revealed by the short skirt as the dress' silky white material hung perfectly onto her every curve.

"You look –" Reno, the smooth talker was absolutely at loss for words and floored by the young woman standing before him.

Tifa chuckled lightly, "Thank you." Her eyes widened as she took in what he was wearing. "You look pretty good yourself. Though I think you are missing just one thing."

"What's that?" He eyed her suspiciously as her hands deftly reached out for something black. With quick strides, she was right in front of him and slipped something soft and silky over his left eye. An eye-patch.

Tifa stepped back to admire his finished look. In a loose cotton white shirt with dark-colored cords holding it together, an open dark brown waistcoat over it, and matching brown pants that fitted into leather boots – Reno looked like the perfect pirate. _Except with that clashing red hair of his_, she mused.

"It's_not_ clashing," Reno retorted as she unknowingly voiced her thoughts.

"Well, the red doesn't really go down that well with the look. Maybe you could –"

"Don't even think about it Lockhart. There's no way I will dye my hair just to fit this – this thing." Reno quickly interjected.

Tifa chuckled. "Fine. So can we leave now?"

"Yes."

Tifa quickly made the payments to shop assistant while Reno constantly shot him intimidating looks just for his own amusement. He stopped when Tifa finally shot him a death glare. When all was settled, Reno valiantly and good-naturedly offered his arm to her. With a pleased smile, Tifa accepted his offer.

"Oh before that," she suddenly said as they were inches away from the doors. "Can I just – request one thing?" Reno nodded with a skeptical look. "Could you do that pirate thing?"

"Tifa!"

"Please? For me?"

Reno rolled his eyes before taking a deep breath in. "Fine. But only once."

"Deal."

"Arrrrrr" he growled in a low, gruffy tone.

Tifa immediately convulsed into laughter as Reno wondered why in the world were women so fascinated with pirates and the stupid sounds they made.


End file.
